Like Darius Vassell's England career, the season is well and truly over, so it's time to dish out the end-of-season gongs.
Who made the difference in your club's season? Who lived up to all expectations like a sausage sandwich after a big night out? And who flopped like Pele without viagra?
Below, the setanta.com office has joined forces to pick our success stories and disappointments of a quite gripping campaign, feel free to congratulate us on our genius or destroy us for our cluelessness using the comments box below.
NEWCASTLE
Player of the season: Sebastien Bassong. Now finding a player of the season for a team that fell from grace so spectacularly is hard, but the Frenchman stood head and shoulders above his team-mates. He was an unknown quantity when moving to Tyneside but showed no nerves and became a key figure in the heart of the defence.
Young player of the season: Andy Carroll. Promising and committed as he is, Carroll almost wins this by default due to the dearth of competition. He certainly has a bright future and his goal against Stoke was a real highlight.
Best signing: Sebastien Bassong. Although not quite on a par with Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars, Bassong dominates the Newcastle awards as he proved his class after The Magpies snapped him up from Metz.
Worst signing: Xisco. Now there was stiff competition for this award (Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Kevin Nolan) but the Spanish striker just edged it. Signed over Kevin Keegan’s head for a fee believed to be in the region of £7 million, he made his debut against Hull in September and scored the most fortunate of goals. It all went downhill from there, he made just six more appearances and was plagued by injuries.
Disappointment of the season: Selling James Milner. In a season of such turmoil and heartbreak, it is tough to single out one disappointment above others. However, the decision to allow Milner to leave for Aston Villa had many Magpies fans scratching their heads in disbelief. It’s impossible to say if Newcastle would have stayed up had they not sold Milner, but his commitment and wholeheartedness might have made a telling difference.
Moment of the campaign: Kevin Keegan’s departure. If anything summed up the farce that is Newcastle United, it is the departure of Keegan. He rode in on his white charger to save the club the previous season and did exactly that. The mood was positive heading into the 2008-2009 season, but cracks appeared in the relationship between manager and board, Keegan departed on September 4 and the club never recovered.